VIENNA, Austria, MAY 30, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Caritas will host an International Congress on World Hunger and Food Security in Vienna, Austria on June 1-2. The purpose of the meeting is to find global solutions to why 925 million people worldwide suffer from hunger.
“Every 12 seconds a child dies of hunger. Hunger is not inevitable; the causes are social, economic and political,” said President of Caritas Internationalis Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, one of the keynote speakers.
Delegates from around the world will discuss the structural causes of hunger, how aid agencies can intervene effectively and the fundamental right to food.
The Vienna congress will bring together public authorities, policy makers, academics, journalists and representatives of civil society worldwide.
“Finding solutions to hunger is at the heart of the work of Caritas,” a press release from the organization explained. “Caritas wants to unite the international community around the fight for the eradication of hunger and malnutrition.”
Cardinal Maradiaga, President of Caritas, will open the conference proceedings. Tesfai Tecle, an adviser to Kofi Annan, will deliver the speech of the former Secretary General of the United Nations, on the effects of global injustice on hunger and malnutrition and on the steps to achieve real change. Also on the list of speakers is Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid. Ms. Georgieva will discuss the role and responsibilities of the European Union in the fight against hunger.
Christoph Schweifer, Secretary General of International Programs at Caritas Austria and coordinator of the congress, said, “Caritas is convinced that a future without hunger is not a utopian dream. It’s a vision what we have to fight for.”
